Shear tests were performed at strain rates ranging from quasi-static (0.01 s-1) to 500 s-1 for AA7075-T6 sheet metal alloy at room temperature. A miniature sized shear specimen was used in this work to perform high strain rate shear testing. Digital image correlation (DIC) techniques were employed to measure the strains in the experiments. At maximum in-plane shear strains greater than 20%, the AA7075-T6 alloy demonstrated a reduced work hardening rate at elevated strain rates. At lower strains, the AA7075-T6 alloy showed mild positive rate sensitivity. The strain to localization (using the Zener-Holloman criterion), measured using the DIC technique, decreased with strain rate in shear loading. The strain at complete failure, however, exhibited an increase at the highest strain rate (500 s-1). The current work also focused on characterization of the thermal conditions occurring during high rate loading in shear with in situ high speed thermal imaging. Experimental results from the highest strain rate (500 s-1) tests showed a notable increase in temperature within the specimen gauge region as a result of the conversion of plastic deformation energy into heat.

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